Former FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH drummer Jeremy Spencer spoke to the “Appetite For Distortion” podcast about the negative reaction from some fans to his PSYCHOSEXUAL project, in which he handles lead vocals as the Devil Daddy character.
“People voice their opinion,” he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “Of course there’s gonna be haters that dislike this. It’s different, and it’s wide open for criticism, of course, because it’s weird characters and it’s not familiar, so it’s an easy target, which is fine. I get it. That’s the day and age we’re in — it’s about you put something out, and everyone destroys it. If they get off on it, it’s fun. If SLAYER or METALLICA came out today, they would probably get destroyed too. It’s just a different day and age; it’s how it works. Your bands get destroyed. And that’s fine. I mean, I came out of a band that was a major target for hate, so it’s, like, I’ve pretty much heard it all at this point if you’re not gonna really get that creative and do anything that’s that impressive. But I do appreciate a good dogging if it’s funny; if you go to good lengths to come up with something original, then I’ll laugh; I can laugh at myself. That’s fine. But when people message you and tell you you’re a piece of shit all the time, nobody really likes that. But you just try to keep a good sense of humor about all of it.
“I really don’t care what people think of me,” he continued. “It’s none of my business. I make music for myself. That may sound selfish, but that’s what artists do. First and foremost, you make records that you wanna listen to. And then if fans start digging it, then that’s a bonus. And you take it from there. But we just started to make records that we wanted to listen to first and foremost, and we like it, so that’s what’s important.”
Spencer added: “Everyone’s gonna get out of it what they need to. If they need to have the hate juice from this, good, then great. And if they wanna enjoy it, that’s great too. I really don’t care what you think of me either way. I’m still gonna do what I’m gonna do until I don’t wanna do it anymore, ’cause I can. And it’s fun right now. So we’re doing it. And I just can’t wait to play live so we can take this thing out there and get in front of as many people and have some fun. Everyone’s chomping at the bit to see some live stuf, and I think this will be fun. It’s gonna be different.”
Earlier this month, PSYCHOSEXUAL released the official music video for its latest single, “Devil From Hell”. The song will appear on the band’s forthcoming sophomore album, “Unholy Hymns For The Children”, due out May 14.
Last month, Spencer spoke to “Drag The Waters: The Pantera Podcast” about his decision to remove all the previously released music and videos from PSYCHOSEXUAL ahead of the arrival of “Devil From Hell”.
“When you make records, they’re like snapshots in time,” Jeremy explained. “We made the first thing pretty fast, and I just threw it out independently. And we had started the next record right away, and ‘Devil From Hell’ happened. And I’m, like, ‘Fuck, man. I really like this. I wish this would have been the first thing that we dropped.’ So it’s, like, you know what? Nobody even really knows much about the other music, which I do like, but I think this is more appropriate of where we kind of wanna debut; this is what I wanted to be the first thing. So it’s kind of like a reboot — we’re starting over. I’ll release the other music down the road again, but this second record will technically be our first. [Laughs]”
Regarding “Devil From Hell”, Jeremy said: “It’s a little different than the previous material that we’ve been working on. It’s a little heavier. We do all kinds of stuff — it’s not just metal or whatever; it’s kind of eclectic. But this one’s definitely a stomper. I’m pretty happy with it. The video turned out really cool too.”
PSYCHOSEXUAL released its debut album, “Torch The Faith”, last July. It was co-produced by Spencer and Shawn McGhee (DROWNING POOL) and released via Spencer‘s 6eX Records. The debut premiered at No. 150 on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching No. 5 on the Hard Music Albums, No. 12 on Top New Artist Albums and No. 30 on Current Rock Albums.
Prior to the arrival of “Devil From Hell”, PSYCHOSEXUAL‘s last release was the covers EP “Songs To Stalk You By”, which came out last November. The EP reunited Spencer with former FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook, who contributed solos on the KISS classic “Watchin’ You” and QUEENSRŸCHE‘s “Gonna Get Close To You”. The recordings marked the first time the pair had worked together since both parted ways with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH.
Spencer, who sports a Mephistophelian mask as Devil Daddy, is joined in PSYCHOSEXUAL by guitarist Crucifer, bassist Astaroth and drummer Volac.
Jeremy, who co-founded FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH with guitarist Zoltan Bathory, left the band so that he could undergo back surgery in the fall of 2018 that required a significant recovery period.
Spencer‘s replacement in FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is Charlie “The Engine” Engen. Engen made his recording debut with the band on the “F8” album, which came out in February 2020.
